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The chief of Hong Kong’s correctional services has said the department would not be intimidated by threats of violence, after an officer was attacked outside a prison by a group of men with triad links.
Commissioner of Correctional Services Wong Kwok-hing on Sunday visited a prison officer who had been hospitalised after being attacked outside Pik Uk Correctional Institution on Saturday. Wong called the attack an “open challenge” to the rule of law, adding that the Correctional Services Department (CSD) would “remain steadfast” in its duties and ensure its institutions maintained order and discipline.
“The CSD strongly condemns these lawless acts of violence… I want to emphasise that every colleague in the CSD is a professional law enforcer. We will not be intimidated by any form of violent threats,” Wong said in Cantonese.
Eight men aged between 16 and 37 were arrested in connection with the attack. All had triad ties and some would be formally charged with conspiracy to wound, superintendent Lam Kai-chor said on Saturday.
According to the police, an assistant CSD officer was attacked by three masked men with long and hard objects at a bus stop near a detention facility on Clear Water Bay Road at around 12.50 pm on Saturday.
The assailants were dropped off by a private vehicle with a fake license plate. The attack lasted for around 10 seconds and the attackers fled the scene on the same vehicle.
The victim sustained six cuts on his head and arms, with the wounds ranging between five and 15 centimetres. He also suffered from a right wrist fracture. His condition was stable, Lam said.
When the assailants were fleeing the scene, they accidentally bumped into a 33-year-old women and her two-year-old daughter. The pair suffered minor injuries and had been discharged from the hospital, police said.
The Organised Crime and Triad Bureau later made eight arrests, including one man who “gave instructions” at the scene. The force was looking into the division of work among the suspects and all eight remained in police custody pending investigation, the superintendent said.
So far, there was no evidence suggesting that the attack was linked to the victim’s finances or personal matters. His work at the prison would be one of the directions of the investigation, Lam said.
“Apart from the pursuing the most severe criminal investigation in this case, I want to reiterate that cracking down on triads is one of top priorities of the commissioner of police,” Lam said.
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